My purpose for going, was to attend the National Retreat of the Emmanuel Community which took place in Dromana (Mornington Peninsula). In this way, I could have several meetings regarding Emmanuel Youth, without having to travel all over the country.
I left Rome on a Monday night and arrived bright and early on the following Wednesday. I was greeted at the airport by my brother Alex and my two darling nephews, Mikey and Timmy. I enjoyed a couple of relaxing days at mum and dads. One afternoon I had the pleasure of a visit from three of mum's sisters, who never fail to entertain.
Then on the weekend I went to the retreat. Apart from the meetings, I was able to get a lot out of the times of prayer and the wonderful talks. To read about the weekend and to see pictures, check out this article written by my friend Fiona Basile. It was also wonderful to catch up with so many of my dear friends. It was so hard to say goodbye to them at the end of the weekend. I bawled and bawled.
I spent the following week at mum and dads, and basically went no where but Mass and the beach. I was in much need of a holiday as we really haven't stopped since WYD in Madrid last August.
On January 26th, we celebrated Australia Day in true fashion, by having a barbeque in the backyard. It was not the same without Kev, but Paul did a fabo job of cooking up the meat.
Dad and Paul preparing the Australia Day lunch
Me, Mum, dad, Paul, Alex, Steph, Mikey, Timmy, Dave and Jennifer
I hadn't seen most of dad's side of the family in a while, so we invited them to afternoon tea. It was splendid fun.
Hele, Penny, Steph, Alex
Penny, Hele, Nina
Hele, Nick, Rachel
The whole clan
Mum and Hele
Dad, Steph, Paul
I had such a nice time in warm, sunny Australia with temperatures in the 30s. But, I missed my Kev, and the mission called, so I returned to Rome.
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